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A number is never just a number: Taxing times

31%That's how much of Canada's economy is made up of income, sales, corporate, property and other taxes we pay to all levels of government. (Source)

~$38 billionThat's how much less Canadians now pay in individual income tax compared to 2000. (Source)

~$19 billionThat's how much less Canadians pay now in sales taxes compared to 2000. Since the Harper government cut the GST by two points in 2007, the average annual revenue loss to the treasury is about $12 billion. (Source and source)

~$18 billionThat's how much less corporations pay now in Canadian taxes compared to 2000. (Source)

$11,747Total income tax a person with an annual income of $50,000 will pay in Quebec for 2011, the highest regional amount in Canada. (Source)

$8,349Total income tax that same person would pay in Nunavut, the lowest regional amount in Canada. (Source)

$41,000Average amount middle-income Canadian families enjoy in public services that their taxes fund. It's worth about 63% of their income. (Source)

64%That's how many Canadians are willing to pay slightly higher taxes to protect our social programs. (Source)

60%That's how many Canadians say they'd be more likely to support a political party willing to raise taxes on the rich. (Source)

2%Tax hike for Canadians making between $170,000 and $640,000 that a new organization, Doctors for Fair Taxation, recommend federal and provincial governments adopt. (Source)

2%Extra taxes Ontarians earning $500,000 or more will pay due to a temporary surtax. It affects about 23,000 people who will pay, on average, about $19,000 more in taxes. (Source)

49.5%Ontario's marginal tax rate once the new tax hike on the highest income earners kicks in. In the 1950s, the '60s and early '70s the marginal tax rate (including federal and provincial) for this income range was 80 per cent. (Source and source)

75%Percent of taxes France's Socialist Party candidate François Hollande proposes to levy on millionaires in that country. (Source)

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative's Trish Hennessy has long been a fan of Harper Magazine's one-page list of eye-popping statistics, Harper's Index. Instead of wishing for a Canadian version to magically appear, she's created her own index -- a monthly listing of numbers about Canada and its place in the world. Hennessy's Index -- A number is never just a number -- comes out at the beginning of each month.

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